Once upon a sunny morning, little Amal with her short, blonde frizzy hair woke up beaming. Today, she declared, was a day for learning!

Amal sat with a book twice her size. She pointed at the letters 'A', 'B', 'C', and sang them out loud.

One letter puzzled Amal. 'What comes after C?' she pondered. Mama joined, 'D, my dear, like in duck!'

They found four rubber ducks in a row. 'Let's count them!' said Amal. She counted, 'One, two, three, four!'

Amal bounced with joy. 'Now let's subtract one!' Mama suggested. 'Three ducks left!' Amal discovered.

With a hop and skip, she drew numbers in her chalk world. 'Five!' she exclaimed, standing next to the chalk-drawn number.

Her next challenge was shapes. Circle, square, triangle, she identified all, touching their chalky outlines with tiny fingers.

'Two circles make what?' Mama quizzed. 'Bicycle wheels!' giggled Amal, imagining them rolling away.

Lunchtime came, and four slices of apple pie were on the table. 'One for me, one for you,' said Amal, counting.

After lunch, Amal stacked colored blocks. 'How many?' Mama asked. 'Ten!' shouted Amal, proud of her tower.

The day was ending, but Amal's curiosity was not. 'Tomorrow, more numbers and letters!' she promised herself.

As stars appeared, Amal counted them from her window, her eyelids heavy with dreams of letters and numbers dancing.